Cristano Ronaldo born 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira, better known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer. He plays both for the English Premier League club Manchester United and the Portuguese national team. With Manchester United, Ronaldo plays primarily as a right winger. He has also been used both in a central attacking role and as a second striker.

 Cristiano Ronaldo is a two-footed player, allowing him to play anywhere up front: right, left or through the middle. This has enabled Cristano Ronaldo and left winger Ryan Giggs to switch wings occasionally, helping Manchester United further confuse their opponents. Ronaldo is renowned for his superb technical ability. Besides his trademark multiple step-overs, he also developed a wide array of flicks and skills, making him one of the most feared wingers in the premiership.His blistering pace enables him to accelerate past defenders, either down the wings or cutting into the middle, and he can strike powerful shots from outside the box as well as being adept at finishing from close-range. Ronaldo is extremely good in the air and has scored a fair number of headed goals, and he is currently Manchester United's first-choice penalty taker. Additionaly, his unique 'pin-ball' free kicks are known for their fearsome swerve and dip. His unique playing style is a far cry from traditional wingers of the past and he can perhaps best be described as a winger and a striker rolled into one.

He began kicking a football when he was three, and when he started primary school at age six, his passion for the sport was obvious. His favourite boyhood team was SL Benfica even though he would later join their rival, Sporting. He first played for an amateur team, Andorinha, where his father was the kit man, when he was just eight years old. By 1995, at just ten years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation was growing in Portugal. Madeira's top two teams, CS Marítimo and CD Nacional were both interested in signing him. Marítimo, the bigger team, missed a crucial meeting with Rui Santos, Ronaldo's manager at Andorinha, and as a result, Ronaldo signed for Nacional. After a title-winning campaign at Nacional, Ronaldo went on a three day trial with Sporting who subsequently signed him for an undisclosed sum.


Cristiano Ronaldo joined Sporting's other youth players who trained at the Alcochete, the club's "football factory," where he received first-class instruction. In his first few months in Lisbon, he had to defend himself from the rest of the local players as they had taunted him over his Madeiran accent. A growth spurt had also obstructed his progress at the club. However, Ronaldo eventually went on to become the only player in Sporting’s history to play for the Under-16, Under-17, Under-18, B team and first-team within a season. Sporting realised that Ronaldo needed more support and arranged for his mother to join him. He scored two goals on his Sporting debut against Moreirense. He also featured for Portugal in the UEFA Under 17 Championships.

His performances at the UEFA Under 17 championship drew him to the attention of the wider football world. He was first spotted by former Liverpool F.C. manager Gérard Houllier at the age of 16. However, Liverpool later declined him because he was too young and needed some time to develop into a top footballer. However, he came to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2003, when Sporting beat Manchester United 3-1 in the inauguration of the Alvalade XXI stadium in Lisbon. Ronaldo demonstrated his ability to play on both wings. His performance in the match impressed the Manchester United players, who spoke to their manager about a possible transfer bid for Ronaldo.

Ferguson decided that he wanted  Cristiano Ronaldo for his team, who were in the market for a right-sided midfielder with the departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid; Cristiano Ronaldo was signed for a fee of £12.24 million, becoming the club's first ever Portuguese player. Cristiano Ronaldo was handed the number 7 shirt on his arrival, a shirt number that has belonged to some of the greatest Manchester United legends, such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Beckham. Ronaldo initially asked for the number 28 which he wore at Sporting, as he did not want the pressure of living up to the expectation linked to the number 7 shirt. "After I joined, the manager asked me what number I'd like. I said 28. But Ferguson said 'no, you're going to have No. 7' and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour".

Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for Manchester United as a 60th minute substitute against Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford, a 4-0 Manchester United win. On 29 October 2005, Cristiano Ronaldo scored Manchester United's 1000th Premiership goal, in a 4-1 loss at the hands of Middlesbrough. He bagged a double double in February, with two goals at home to Fulham and another pair at Fratton Park, and also scored in the following Premiership game against Wigan taking his tally to 8 Premiership goals. On 26 February 2006, Ronaldo played in the Carling Cup Final against Wigan in the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff, and scored a goal - taking his season's tally to 10 goals. He was named FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year 2005, the only award to be voted for by fans. He received the same accolade the following year in 2006. He was also ranked 20th in the FIFA Player of the Year 2005 standings.

Despite the World Cup incident, Cristiano Ronaldo remained popular with the Manchester United faithful when he played (and scored) in his first Premiership match since the 2006 World Cup. Manchester United fans could clearly be heard chanting "there's only one Ronaldo" at various points in the game, in a 5-1 win over Fulham F.C.. He won the Barclays Player of the Month for November 2006. By December 2006, Ronaldo had become one of United's most influential players, scoring six goals in three league games to bring his overall tally up to 12 goals. He came on at half-time as a substitute against Wigan Athletic and immediately stamped his influence on the match with 2 goals in the space of a few minutes.

 Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson concedes he would lose his wager with the Portuguese in his current form after setting a target of 15 goals for the season. The Scot remarked that he was "pleased for him because he works hard at his game. He's still learning the game. His ability to pass the ball has helped him this season. His passing has been very good. That just shows he is maturing. He's been fantastic, and he's getting better all the time". In December, he was awarded the Barclays Player of the Month Award for the second successive month, becoming the third ever player in the Premiership to do so (after Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996).Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 50th goal for Manchester United in the game against arch-rivals Manchester City which turned out to be the decisive goal which helped Manchester United claim the Premiership for the first time in 4 years.

As the end of each season approached, particularly in 2006 and 2007, it became traditional for rumours to start floating that Cristiano Ronaldo was unsettled at Manchester United and wanted to play for Real Madrid - the rumours frequently originating from the board of Real Madrid who were reported in April 2007 to be willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Ronaldo. At the beginning of March 2007, however, Ronaldo, as well as Manchester United, confirmed that they would be negotiating an extension to his current contract. On 13 April 2007, Ronaldo signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week deal with United, making him the highest-paid player in United's history.[21] He said, "I am very happy at the club and I want to win trophies and hopefully we will do that this season".

Rooney and Ronaldo (Right) depicted at Old Trafford During the 2006-07 season, Ronaldo won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards. He received the two awards during a ceremony on the 22nd of April, 2007. In addition to winning the two awards (an accomplishment that has only been matched once - in 1977 by Andy Gray), Cristiano Ronaldo was also named a member of the PFA Premiership Team of the Year, alongside seven of his fellow Manchester United teammates. On 24 April 2007, Ronaldo completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year, an award which is given by winning the most votes from fans all over the United Kingdom. In addition, he was awarded the 2007 Portuguese Footballer of the Year, and at the beginning of May 2007 Crisitiano Ronaldo was also awarded the Football Writers' Association Award. He also received two awards from the club itself, the Player of the Year award, and the Fans' Player of the Year award.

The 2006-07 was tainted with several diving incidents. During a match with Middlesbrough F.C., he was criticised for diving by rival manager Gareth Southgate. On 4 February 2007, in a match against Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Ronaldo was caught in yet another diving controversy, after winning United a controversial penalty despite seeming to receive little or no contact from Tottenham's Steed Malbranque.

Ronaldo scored his first hat trick for Manchester United, in the 6-0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of English Premier League table. He scored with a free kick in the 49th minute and went on to score twice more in the 70th and 88th minutes of the match.  The very next game, he scored the second goal in the 2-0 win against Reading on 19 January 2008, bringing his goal tally to 23, equalling his tally for the whole of the 2006/2007 season.  UEFA have been urged to investigate an incident before and during the 1-1 draw against Olympique Lyonnais in the UEFA Champions League on February 20, 2008 where Crisitiano Ronaldo and United team mate Nani were targeted by opposition fans shining potentially hazardous lasers at the players during the warm up and the match itself.